Sixty year old Diane Shafer, a former West Virginia doctor, faces up to four years in prison when sentenced on August 24th after pleading guilty Thursday to conspiracy to misuse a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration registration number. Shafer remains free on bond. Prosecutors say, between 2003 and early 2010, Shafer wrote more than 118,000 prescriptions for controlled substances, more than what some hospitals in West Virginia issued during that time. Shafer admitted that she left signed prescription slips at her office in Williamson in Mingo County throughout 2009. Her staff would hand them out for such drugs as Hydrocodone and Xanax in exchange for cash.
